Newton - General game info
Newton
1-4 players, 90 minutes, 14 years and older
AuthorsSimone Luciani (magobaol77)
Nestore Mangone
IllustratorKlemens Franz
Published byCranio Creations
Online since 2023-04-23
Developed byBart De Cock (be_com4)
Boardgamegeek244711
Complexity3,38/5
Yucata.de owns a license for the online version of this game. A big "thank you" to the copyright owners (publisher and/or author and illustrator) who make it possible to have this game for free online here!
Newton
Newton - Rules

Newton

The Eighteenth Century is a time of great scientific discoveries, as well as exciting research into mysterious and as yet unknown fields. Competition in the academic world is ruthless… above all for young scholars such as yourselves! In order to follow in the steps of the great Newton you must devote yourselves to undertaking new research and increasing your knowledge in order to become the most highly respected scholar in the world’s scientific community! You will travel through Europe visiting cities, universities and ancient lands which were once seats of vast and mysterious knowledge. Devote yourselves to studying the works of the great scholars who have gone before and learn new things in academic lessons. Experiment original theories to arrive at revolutionary technological inventions. Work hard to provide economic support for your research… and try to gain the backing of the great contemporary Masters

Game Components

1
Map board
4
Study boards
1
Tracks board
10
Objective tiles
10
Invention tiles
10
Specialization tiles
20
Development tiles
12
Income tiles
4
Medicine Income tiles
7
City Tiles
6
University tiles
3
Ancient Land tiles
18
Bonus tokens
32
Coins (of values 1 and 5)
20
Potion tokens
48
Bookshelf tiles (12 for each color)
24
Starting Action cards (6 for each color)
45
Action cards
22
Master cards (15 per level)
4
Scientists (1 for each color)
16
Students (4 for each color)
48
Travel cubes (12 for each color)
8
Markers (2 for each color)
4
Summary cards
1
First Player token

Setup (general)

  1. Place the Map and the Tracks board in the center of the table.
  2. Randomly place all the City, University and Ancient Land tiles in the appropriate spaces (those with the same shape) on the Map.
  3. Shuffle the Specialization tiles then draw 5 of them and randomly place them on the appropriate spaces (those with the same shape) on the Tracks board. Place the remaining Specialization tiles back in the box.
  4. Shuffle the Objective tiles, draw 6 of them and randomly place them on the appropriate spaces (those with the same shape) on the Map and Tracks board. Place the remaining Objective tiles back in the box.
  5. For a 4-player game randomly place all the Bonus tokens on the appropriate spaces (those with the same shape and a gold border) on the Map and Tracks board.
    For a 3-player game do not place any tokens on the spaces marked with a 4.
    In a 2-player game do not place any Bonus tokens on the spaces marked with a 4 or 3+.
    In a 1-player game do not place any Bonus tokens on the spaces marked with 4, 3+ or 2+.
    Place the remaining Bonus tokens back in the box.
  6. Shuffle the Invention tiles then draw 5 of them and randomly place them on the appropriate spaces (those with the same shape) on the Tracks board. Place the remaining Invention tiles back in the box.
  7. Divide the Income tiles by type (according to the symbol on the front) and place them faceup on the appropriate spaces on the Tracks board.
  8. Place the Medicine Income tiles on their space on the Map, with the side showing 1 Victory Point faceup.
  9. Place the Coins and the Potion tokens on the table to form a common pool. Coins and Potion tokens are considered to be unlimited (in the very rare case you need more of them, use some other item).
  10. Divide the Action cards by level (according to the symbol on the back), shuffle each of the 3 decks separately and place them facedown on the table. Draw 3 cards from each deck and place them faceup next to the relative decks to form 3 lines. For a 1-player game draw 2 cards from each deck instead of 3.
  11. Divide the Development tiles by type (according to the symbol on the front) and place them faceup on the appropriate spaces on the Tracks board.

Player Setup

Choose a color and:
  1. Randomly choose a Study board and place it in front of you.
  2. Take the 12 Bookshelf tiles of your color and place 3 tiles in each of the appropriate spaces on your Study board.
  3. Take the 12 Travel cubes of your color and place 1 in each of the appropriate spaces on your Study board
  4. Take the 6 Starting Action cards of your color.
  5. Take the Scientist of your color and place it on the Map in the starting space of Basel.
  6. Take the 4 Students of your color, place 1 of them in the starting space of the Technology track on the Tracks board and place the other 3 next to your Study board.
  7. Take the 2 Markers of your color. Place 1 of them in the starting space of the Work track on the Tracks board and place the other on the Map in the space marked ‘O’ on the Victory Points track.
  8. Take 1 Summary card and place it next to your personal board. Place the remaining Summary tiles back in the box.
  9. Take 2 Coins and place them next to your Study board.
  10. Randomly choose who will be the first player, and give them the First Player token (for a 1-player game the token is not used).
  11. Shuffle the Master cards and deal 4 to each player. Place the remaining Master cards back in the box.
    • For your first game, keep the Master cards you receive.
    • For following games: all of the players simultaneously choose 1 card to keep and pass the remaining cards to the player on their left. Continue doing so until all players have 4 Master cards.
    • For a 1-player game: draw 6 Master cards and choose 4 to keep.

How to Play

A game is played over 6 rounds, each of which is divided into 2 phases: the Action phase and the End Round phase. In the Action phase players place cards on their desk, on the Study Board, in order to perform various actions. At the end of the round they have to move one of the cards they have played under their desk: this card can no longer be played, but the symbol on it will increase the value of that action when it is performed later in the game. Players receive Victory Points as an immediate bonus, as income during the game, or from Objective tiles and Master cards at the end of the game. At the end, the player with the most Victory Points wins!

How to Play

A game is played over 6 rounds, each of which is divided into 2 phases: the Action phase and the End Round phase.

In the Action phase players place cards on their desk, on the Study Board, in order to perform various actions.

At the end of the round they have to move one of the cards they have played under their desk: this card can no longer be played, but the symbol on it will increase the value of that action when it is performed later in the game.

Players receive Victory Points as an immediate bonus, as income during the game, or from Objective tiles and Master cards at the end of the game.

At the end, the player with the most Victory Points wins!

Action Phase

During the action phase players play one turn after another in a clockwise direction starting from the first player, for a total of 5 turns each.

On their turn each player must play 1 Action card from their hand onto the desk on their Study board and they can, if they wish, perform any number of Quick Actions.

Every Action card has a Basic Action symbol in its lower half, and may or may not have a Special Effect in its upper half.

To play an Action card take it from your hand and place it on your desk in the first available space from left to right. Then perform the Basic Action and apply the Special Effect if there is one. If you wish you can decide not to perform the Basic Action and/or not to apply the Special Effect.

You can perform a card’s Basic Action, apply its Special Effect and perform Quick Actions in the order that you wish.

The value of a Basic Action is the same as the total number of symbols of that same particular action that are visible on your desk , including the one on the Action card that you have just played.

Important! You can always choose to perform a Basic action at a lower value than the total number of symbols of that action visible on your desk.

In the following pages we will describe all the Basic Actions.

Work

Move your marker forwards on the Work track by a number of spaces equal (or less) to the value of the action. Receive a number of Coins equal to the value of the Action. Take the Coins from the common pool and add them to your personal supply

If you have already reached the last space on the Work track you can still perform the Work action to receive Coins without moving your Marker.

In order to activate the effects of a Special Space on the track, your Marker must end its movement in that exact space.

If, in order to finish your movement on one of the Special Spaces and apply its effects, you choose to move your Marker by a value which is lower than the total number of symbols visible on your desk, you can only receive a number of Coins equal to the number of moves your Marker makes.

In order to move your Marker into the Objective space at the end of the track you must meet the requirement depicted next to it.

See also in the FAQ.

EXAMPLE: Sarah performs a Work action at a value of 3, but she decides to move her Marker only by 2 spaces to activate the Specialization tile. She receives 2 Coins and moves her Marker forward by 2 spaces.

Technology

Move ONE of your Students forwards on the Technology track by a number of spaces equal (or less to) the value of the action.

EXAMPLE: Alice performs the Technology action at a value of 3. She decides to move the Student depicted. After the first step, she takes and activates the Bonus token; then she decides to take the route on the right to end the movement on the Special Space and activate it.

The Technology track starts in one space but then splits into different paths. When you move your Student from the starting space and each time that you find yourself at a fork in the road you will have to choose which path you wish to take. The 6 final spaces on the track are marked with the highlighted symbol.

Your Students can only move forwards. They cannot turn back down a path.

You cannot move more than one Student in the same action, that is, you cannot split the value of an action between Students. If you do not have any Students on the track or on the starting space you cannot perform a Technology action.

When your Student passes over a Bonus token, take it and activate its effect.

In order to activate the effects of a Special Space on the track your Student must end its movement in that exact space.

In order to move your Student into the Objective space (at the end of 4 of the paths) you must meet the requirement depicted next to it.

There cannot be more than one Student of the same color on the last space of a path. However, there is no limit to the number of Students that can occupy the same space along the path.

Travel

Move your Scientist along the routes on the Map by a number of spaces equal (or less) to the value of the action.

Each time that you move your Scientist along a route which has a cost to be paid in Coins you must first pay the number of Coins indicated.

On the Map there are different types of places connected by routes. There are 6 Universities, 3 Ancient Lands, 7 Cities, 14 Villages, 1 Master space, 1 Objective space and the starting space. The routes pass over land, sea or both and some have a cost in Coins.

EXAMPLE: Frank performs a Travel action at a value of 4, but he decides to move his Scientist by only 3 spaces to end the movement in Istanbul. After the second step, he takes and activates the Bonus token; then he places one of his Travel cubes on the City tile.

When your Scientist passes over a Bonus token, take it and activate its effect. If your Scientist finishes its movement on a City, University, Ancient Land, Objective or Master space, take a Travel cube from your Study board and place it on that space.

You must take the Travel cubes from your Study board from top to bottom and from right to left. When you place your 9th/10th/11th/12th Travel cubes, you immediately receive 1/2/4/8 Victory Points respectively.

There cannot be more than 1 Travel cube of each color in the same space. There is no limit to the number of Scientists which can occupy the same space on the Map.

In order to move your Scientist into the Objective space, you must meet the requirement depicted next to it.

See also in the FAQ.

Lessons

EXAMPLE: Sarah performs a Lessons action at a value of 2. She can take one of the highlighted cards.

Take ONE of the available Action cards with a value equal (or less) to the value of the action played and add it to your hand. You can play it from the next turn. Don’t replace the card that you have taken: Action cards will be replaced during the End Round phase.

The value of an Action card corresponds to the number of Lessons symbols shown on the back of the card.

Important! As you have to place an Action card under your Study board at the end of every round (see End Round phase), it is extremely important to get new Action cards to avoid not having any cards to play later in the game! Remember that Action cards which are not Starting Action cards always feature a special effect which will give you a greater variety of options (see Special effects).

You cannot take more than one card in the same action, that is, you cannot split the value of an action between cards.

If you do not have any Action cards in your hand when it is your turn, you cannot perform Basic Actions!

Study

Take ONE of your Bookshelf tiles and place it on your Study board in a book space of your choice on a shelf of a value equal (or less) to the value of the action.

The bookshelf on your Study board is composed of book spaces (squares) distributed over 3 shelves (on horizontal lines), each of which has a different value (1/2/3 Study symbols). Each book space shows a requirement (see below). The spaces on the bookshelf showing a windowpane divide the rows and columns of book spaces. The Bookshelf tile printed in the bottom left-hand corner of the bookshelf is considered already placed. When all the adjacent book spaces in a row or column have been filled you have made a scientific discovery, and can receive its income in Victory Points according to the number indicated by the arrow. At the bottom of the bookshelf there are 5 spaces for Income or Medicine tiles.

In order to place a Bookshelf tile you must meet the requirement shown in the book space where you want to place it (for Requirements).

Bookshelf tiles must be taken from your supply from top to bottom. When you take the third Bookshelf tile from a pile you immediately receive a bonus (1 Potion token/ 4 Coins/1 Master card/8 Victory Points).

You cannot place more than one Bookshelf tile in the same action, that is, you cannot split the value of an action between book spaces.

If you do not have any Bookshelf tile left in your supply you cannot perform a Study Action.

If you complete a row or column of book spaces you receive its income in Victory Points according to the number indicated by the arrow on that row or column (see End Round phase).


EXAMPLE: Frank has visited the University of Bologna (II)

Frank performs a Study Action at a value of 2. He takes his first available Bookshelf tile to place it on his bookshelf and he immediately receives 1 Potion token. He is able to place the Bookshelf tile on one of the highlighted book space because he meets both of their requirements (he has visited the University II and he has a blue Volume on his desk). He decides to place it on the blue Volume space to activate that column income. During the end round phase of the current round, and of all following rounds, he will receive 2 Victory Points.

Joker

EXAMPLE: Sarah plays the Joker card to perform a Travel action. That action has a value of 4, because there are already 3 symbols of that action visible on the desk.

Action cards with a Joker symbol can be used to perform a Basic Action of your choice.

The value of the action you choose to perform is equal to the total number of symbols of that action visible on your desk plus 1 (for the Joker played).

When the Joker has been played the Joker symbol visible on your desk is never counted when calculating the value of actions performed later in the game.

The Joker symbol is not counted towards the value of an action even if the Joker is placed under your Study board at the end of a round (see End Round phase).

 

Requirements, Volumes and Potions

In order to place Bookshelf tiles and to be able to activate Objective tiles, you must meet the requirements shown (Volumes, University or Ancient Land) in the book or Objective space.

In order to meet a University or Ancient Land requirement , you must have visited the University or Ancient Land shown on their space (one of your Travel cubes must be on that space).

In order to meet a Volumes requirement, you must have those volumes available, that is, they must be visible on your desk (or on a Master card that you have played). You can use any available Volume to meet different requirements during the same round.

Whenever you have to meet a requirement (during a Study Action or to activate an Objective tile), you can spend Potion tokens in order to meet that requirement more easily in the following ways:

You can spend 1 Potion token in place of one Volume which is required (by a book space or by an Objective tile). You can replace multiple Volumes by spending 1 Potion token for each.

You can spend 3 Potion tokens in place of one University or Ancient Land which is required by a book space.

Quick Actions

Before, during or after performing a Basic Action, you can spend Coins to perform any number of the following quick actions.

Turn over 2 Action cards from a deck. Cost: 1 Coin. Repeatable.

Spend 1 Coin. Draw the first 2 Action cards from a deck of your choice and place them faceup next to the relative deck.

Leave the Action cards drawn where they are. There is no limit to the number of cards available in a line.

EXAMPLE: Sarah plays the Joker card to perform a Travel action and she spends 2 Coins to increase that action’s value. That action has a value of 5 (3 visible symbols on the desk + 1 for the Joker + 1 for the quick action).

Increase the value of a Basic Action. Cost: 2 Coins. Only once per turn.

Spend 2 Coins. Add 1 to the value of the Basic Action you are performing. This quick action can only be applied once per turn and can only increase the value o f a Basic Action that you are performing thanks to an Action card. You cannot pay 4 Coins to increase an action’s value by 2, nor is it possible to increase the value of a Basic Action being performed with an Invention tile or a Master card.

Buy a Potion token. Cost: 3 Coins. Repeatable.

Spend 3 Coins. Take 1 Potion token from the common pool and add it to your personal supply.

Enroll a new Student. Cost: 5 Coins. Repeatable.

Spend 5 Coins. Take a Student from your personal supply and place it in the starting space of the Technology track.

End Round Phase

The action phase ends when all players have played 5 turns (this is shown by the players’ desks which will be filled with Action cards).

The end round phase can be played simultaneously by all players to speed up the game play.

  • Each player must choose ONE of the Action cards they have played and place it under their Study board in correspondence with the first column of free drawers from the left of the desk.

    The Special Effects of the cards under the desk can no longer be used in the rest of the game.

  • Next, all players take the rest of the cards they have played back in their hands.

  • All players then receive all the active income from the bookshelf on their Study boards.

    If you receive Victory Points, move your Marker along the Victory Points track by a number of spaces equal to the number of points received.

  • All the available Action cards (facing up) in each line are put back at the bottom of the relative deck. Draw 3 new cards from each deck (in a 1-player game only draw 2 cards from each deck).

    The cards are limited: if you don’t have enough cards to fill a line, just leave that line uncompleted.

  • The First Player token passes to the next player in a clockwise direction.

End of the Game

1-Player Scoring

Victory PointsLevel Reached
0-40Illiterate
41-50Scribe
51-60Student
61-70Scholar
71-80Professor
81-90Dean
91-100Luminary
101-110Master of knowledge
111-120Genius
121+Science Legend

The game ends after the end round phase of the sixth round. The number of rounds played can be seen by the number of Action cards that have been placed under the players’ Study boards. When you have placed the fifth Action card under your desk (filling the available spaces) you have finished the action phase of the fifth round: play one more round!

Each player receives Victory Points for the Objective spaces occupied by any piece of their color (a Travel cube, a Student or a Marker).

Players also receive the Victory Points shown on the Master cards that they have played during the game.

The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the tied players share the victory.

EXAMPLE: Alice ends her game in the depicted situation. She has Travel cubes on Bologna, Paris, Leipzig, Amsterdam, Napoli, Athenai, Istanbul, Krakow and on the Objective space; she has Students on the depicted Objective spaces of the Technology track and her Marker is on the Objective space on the Work track; she has played the depicted Master cards and collected the depicted Bonus tokens; she received 34 VPs during the game.

She also receives 11 VPs from the Master cards:

At the end of the game she receives for these fulfilled Objectives:

12 VPs for visiting 4 Universities
10 VPs for collecting 5 Bonus tokens
12 VPs for playing 3 Master cards
12 VPs for playing 3 Master cards

She also receives 11 VPs from the Master cards:

Her final score is 84 Victory Points!

Tokens, Tiles and Cards

Bonus Tokens

Bonus tokens give an immediate bonus to the first player who manages to take them. Bonus tokens are found on the Map and on the Technology track.

When your Scientist or one of your Students passes over a Bonus token (you do not have to finish your movement on the token), take it, activate its effect and keep it next to your Study board.

Receive the number of Coins shown.
Receive the number of VPs shown.
Receive the number of Potion tokens shown.
Place a new Student at the bottom of the Technology track.

Specialization Tiles

Specialization tiles allow you to gain a bonus of an Income tile or Development tile.

When and only if, one of your Students (on the Technology track) or your Marker(on the Work track) finishes their movement on a Specialization tile, take the corresponding tile (the shown Income or Development tile) and place it on your Study board (a tile with the ? symbol indicates a tile of that kind of your choice. Once chosen it cannot be changed).

See also in the FAQ.

Development Tiles

Development tiles are symbols which are added to the Basic Action shown on the tile. You need them to increase the value of that action every time that you perform it!

When you take a Development tile (as an effect of a Specialization tile), place it in one of the free drawer spaces in the second row of your desk.

If all 5 of the drawers in your desk are already full you can substitute one of the Development tiles you placed earlier in the game.

Income and Medicine Tiles

Income tiles give you a bonus (2 VPs, 2 Coins, 1 Potion token) during the income phase of each round.

The Medicine Income tile gives you 1 or 3 VPs depending on the number of cities showing the medicine symbol you have visited (see City tiles).

When you take an Income tile (as an effect of a Specialization tile), place it in a free income space in your bookshelf. If all 5 of the income spaces on your bookshelf are already full you can substitute one of the Income tiles you placed earlier in the game.

Invention Tiles

Invention tiles give you an immediate bonus.

When and only if, one of your Students (on the Technology track) or your Marker (on the Work track) finishes their movement on an Invention tile, you immediately receive the bonus indicated.

Receive 2 VPs for every University you have visited (University tiles with one of your Travel cubes on them).

Receive 2 Potion tokens and 3 VPs.

Receive 2 VPs and perform a single Technology Basic Action of value 1 for each Ancient Land you have visited.

Receive 1 Potion token and 6 VPs.

Receive 1 VP and perform a single Work Basic Action of value 1 for each completed row or column in your bookshelf.

Receive 5 Coins and place one of your Students at the bottom of the Technology track.

Receive 2 VPs and perform a Lessons Basic Action of value 3.

Receive 2 Coins and perform a Study Basic Action of value 3.

Receive 1 Potion token and perform a Travel Basic Action of value 3.

Receive 2 VPs and 2 Coins for every Master card you have played.

Important! All the Basic Actions which are played as an effect of an Invention tile must be of a value equal (or less) to that indicated on the tile. You cannot increase the action’s value by adding the number of the same symbols visible on your desk, or by spending 2 Coins.

City Tiles

City tiles give you an immediate bonus when you place a Travel cube on the tile (at the end of your Scientist’s movement or in another way) .

When, and only if, you place a Travel cube (at the end of your Scientist’s movement or in another way), immediately receive the bonus shown.

Place a new Student at the bottom of the Technology track.

Receive 4 Coins.

Receive 2 Potion tokens.

City of Medicine: if this is the first City of Medicine that you have visited, take the Medicine Income tile from the Map and place it on one of the income spaces on your bookshelf with the 1 VP side faceup. If it is the second City of Medicine that you have visited, turn over the Medicine Income tile on your bookshelf so that 3 VP is facing up.

Pay 2 Coins and place a Travel cube on an Ancient Land of your choice.

Pay 2 Coins and place a Travel cube on a University of your choice.

Objective Tiles

Objective tiles enable you to receive Victory Points (VP) at the end of the game by meeting the conditions shown. There are Objective tiles on the Map, at the end of the Work track and at the end of 4 paths on the Technology track.

In order to activate an Objective space (on the Map or at the end of a track) you must meet the requirement of having the 4 volumes shown next to the space.

If you arrive at an Objective tile with a piece in your color (a Travel cube, a Marker, a Student), you activate that Objective: at the end of the game you will receive Victory Points according to the conditions shown on the tile.

Receive 1 VP for each Coin you have left in your supply at the end of the game. The maximum number of VPs you can receive is 14 (even if you have more than 14 Coins).

Receive 2 VPs for each Potion token you have left in your supply at the end of the game. The maximum number of VPs you can receive is 14 (even if you have more than 7 Potion tokens).

Receive 3 VPs for each University you visited during the game (the University tiles with one of your Travel cubes on). The maximum number of VPs you can receive is 15 (even if you have visited more than 5 Universities).

Receive 4 VPs for every 3 Bookshelf tiles that you placed on your bookshelf during the game.

Receive 4 VPs for each Master card you played during the game.

Receive 5 VPs for each Ancient Land you visited during the game (the Ancient Land tiles with one of your Travel cubes on).

Receive 5 VPs for every 3 different Volumes that you have on the Action cards available to you at the end of the game (both on those in your hand and on those which you played on your desk in the final round, but not those placed under your desk) and on your Master cards. The maximum number of VPs you can receive is 15, even if you have more than 3 sets of 3 different Volumes. You cannot use Potion tokens to replace Volumes required by this Objective.

Receive 3 VPs for each pair of Action cards (not starting action cards) which are available to you at the end of the game (both those in your hand and those which you played on your desk in the final round, but not those placed under your desk). The maximum number of VPs you can receive is 15, even if you have more than 5 pairs of (not starting) Action cards available.

Receive 2 VPs for each Bonus token you have left in your supply at the end of the game. The maximum number of VPs you can receive is 14 (even if you have more than 7 Bonus tokens).

Receive 4 VPs for each of your Students which reached the end of a path of the Technology track during the game.

See also in the FAQ.

The Special Effects of Action Cards

Action cards which are not Starting Action cards always have a Special Effect which is shown in their upper half.

Spend the amount shown on the left in order to receive that shown on the right.

1 Volume of your choice.

Double the effect of the Bonus tokens that you collect performing the Technology action of this card.

Spend 3 Coins in order to place a second bookshelf tile in the same action. The value of the action must be split. Example: Alice performs a Study Action at a value of 3 playing this card. She can place 2 Bookshelf tiles on the first line or 1 in the first and 1 in the second.

Receive 1 VP for each Volume of the color shown on the card, available to you (on your desk and on the Master cards you have played). You cannot use Potion tokens to replace Volumes required by this Special Effect.

Spend 2 Coins to move your Scientist to any free Village (with a silver or gold border without Bonus tokens). You can apply this effect either before or after performing the Basic Travel action.

Apply the immediate Special Effect (with a lightning symbol) of an Action card which has already been placed on your desk.

Discard 1 Action card from your hand (remove it from the game) and receive 4 VPs and 2 Coins.

Spend 4 Coins to ignore the requirements of the book space where you want to play a Study Action.

Receive 4 VPs for each set of 3 identical Volumes available to you (on your desk and on the Master cards you have played). You cannot use Potion tokens to replace Volumes required by this Special Effect.

Spend 2 Coins to place more than one Travel cube during this Travel action (you can place a cube in a place you pass through and in the place where you finish your movement).

See also in the FAQ.

The Master Cards

Each Master has a special power and gives Victory Points at the end of the game.

Master cards can be played in 4 different ways:

  • If one of your Students finishes its movement on the Master space at the end of a path on the Technology track.
  • If your Marker finishes its movement on the Master space on the Work track.
  • By placing a Travel cube on the Master space on the Map.
  • By placing 9 Bookshelf tiles.

When you play a Master card, place it next to your Study board. If there is an immediate effect, shown by the lightning symbol, perform the effect immediately.

If the immediate effect is a Basic Action you must perform the action using the value shown (or a lesser value). You cannot add symbols of the same type visible on your desk, nor can you spend 2 Coins to increase its value.

Robert Boyle: Perform a Study Action with a value of 4. With this action you can place more Bookshelf tiles and divide the value of the action (for example, by placing 1 Bookshelf tile on shelf 1, and another on shelf 3; or 4 Bookshelf tiles on shelf 1, etc.). You must meet the requirements in each book space you wish to fill.

See also in the FAQ.

Tycho Brahe: Gives you 2 permanent blue Volumes.

Thomas Browne: Perform a Lessons action with a value of 4. With this action you can take more than one action card by splitting the value of the action (for example, by taking a card with a value of 1 and a card with a value of 3, or 4 cards each with a value of 1, etc.)

Giordano Bruno: Receive 6 coins.

Margaret Cavendish: Permanently remove from your supply the 2 topmost Bookshelf tiles.

Nicolaus Copernicus: Perform a Study Action with a value of 3. Ignore the requirements of the book space you decide to fill.

Nicola Cusano: Receive 3 Potion tokens

René Descartes: Perform a Lessons action with a value of 1. Immediately perform the Basic Action of the Action card you choose to take as if you have played that card on your desk (the value of the Action is the total number of symbols visible on your desk plus 1).

See also in the FAQ.

Daniel Fahrenheit: Gives you 1 permanent Volume. You may choose the color of the Volume each time that you use this Master’s power.

Galileo Galilei: Perform a Travel action with a value of 3. You can place 1 Travel cube on each place you pass through.

See also in the FAQ.

William Gilbert: Place 1 Student at the bottom of the Technology track.

See also in the FAQ.

Edmond Halley: Perform a Technology action with a value of 4. With this action you can move more than 1 Student by splitting the value of the action (for example, by moving 1 Student by 1 space and another by 3 spaces, or by moving 4 Students by 1 space each).

See also in the FAQ.

Stephen Hawking: Move 1 Bookshelf tile already placed to a different book space. You don’t need to meet that space requirement.

Robert Hooke: No effect.

Christiaan Huygens: Perform a Work action with a value of 3. If, by performing this action, you reach an Objective tile at the end of the track, ignore the requirements necessary to activate it.

Johannes Kepler: Perform a Work action with a value of 6. You do not receive Coins for this action.

Gottfried Leibniz: Gives you 2 permanent orange Volumes.

Isaac Newton: Gives you 2 permanent green Volumes.

Paracelsus: Perform an action of your choice with a value of 3.

Blaise Pascal: Perform a Travel action with a value of 5. You do not have to pay any Travel costs.

Evangelista Torricelli: Perform a Technology action with a value of 3. If, by performing this action, you reach an Objective tile, ignore the requirements necessary to activate it.

Maria Winkelmann: Place 1 Travel cube in a space of your choice on the Map. You cannot place it on the Master space or on the Objective space.

See also in the FAQ.

FAQ

This section is not part of the official rules. It is a summary of answers posted to the BGG Newton Rules Forum. Collated by Roger Burrows on 18 December 2021.

1. Master cards

a) Robert Boyle

Q: Suppose I want to use Robert Boyle to fill two shelves, one requiring 1 blue book and the other requiring 2 blue books and I only have 1 blue book currently. How many potions do I spend, 1 or 2?

A: You spend only 1 potion. Requirements, as coloured books, count towards each shelf. So the blue book you already have meets the requirements for the first shelf, as well as half of the requirements for the second shelf. [Confirmed by publisher, 4 Mar 2021]

Q: Take the following situation. A player plays Robert Boyle, allowing him to do a book action of value 4 that may be split. He wants to build four level 1 books and unlocks the Master card bonus for his 9th book with the second book. What is the right timing for playing this Master card: immediately after his second book placement or after he completes the Robert Boyle action? This matters, because he now wants to play the Gottfried Leibniz Master card giving him two orange books and use these books for his third and/or fourth book.

A: After the Robert Boyle action is complete [Answer from designer, 30 July 2019]

b) Rene Descartes

Q: What happens to the action card you pick as a result of playing this card?

A: The card remains in your hand. You don't actually play it, you just use its power. [Confirmed by publisher, 23 Jun 2021]

Q: Do you activate the special effect on the card you pick?

A: No. [Confirmed by designer, 17 Oct 2018]

Q: Can you pay 2 coins and improve the level of the action by one point like a regular action?

A: No.

c) Galileo Galilei

Q: The card says that I can place a cube on every place I pass during a 3 move. So can I put a cube on a village too?

A: No, only valid spaces can host cubes (City, University, ...). [Confirmed by publisher, 10 Mar 2021]

d) William Gilbert

Q: The ability states "Place 1 Student at the bottom of the Technology track." Does this mean any Student from anywhere?

A: No. You just move one student from your reserve to the start space. [Confirmed by designer, 23 Aug 2018]

e) Edmond Halley

Q: What happens if you move more than 1 student and each of them can finish his movement on an objective tile? Do the book requirements add up or are they resolved separately, possibly using the same books from your desk and/or Master cards?

A: Books are never used, you just have to have them. Each requirement is checked separately against all of the books you currently have. [Confirmed by publisher, 8 Oct 2021]

f) Maria Winkelmann

Q: Does that mean that I also get the bonus of a city tile if I place the cube there? Or do I just place the cube and get nothing else?

A: When, and only if, you place a travel cube, you are entitled to the bonus indicated on the respective city card. [Confirmed by publisher, 24 Feb 2021]

2. Special effects

Q: Are special effects active during every subsequent turn in the round (as long as they are visible on the desk), or is only the special effect of the current action card active in a turn?

A: Most special effects work only during the turn you play the card. The exception is the volume, which works for the entire round. [Confirmed by designer, 17 Oct 2018]

Q: I have a question about the special effect "Spend 3 Coins in order to place a second bookshelf tile in the same action. The value of the action must be split." One player played this card with total action value 3. She didn't have any money at that time. She first placed a book tile in row 1 and with that she earned 4 coins because it was her 6th book. Can she spend the money that she just got to activate the above special action to place a second book?

A: No. This special action is part of the action so you need money before the action to activate it. [Confirmed by designer, 9 Feb 2019]

Q: I have a question about the special effect "Receive 1 VP for every volume of the colour shown available to you". Does this card itself also count as a volume on your desk for objectives and does it also count for itself so no matter when you play it, it's always 1 VP?

A: No and no. The card doesn't provide a volume, it provides a scoring opportunity based on volumes.

Q: What if you play an action card with a special effect (top half) of gain two coins. Can you then use those coins to augment your basic action by 1?

A: No. First you pay all costs, then you play all effects. You cannot use revenue from an effect of the card to pay the cost of another effect. [Confirmed by publisher, 4 Mar 2021]

3. Objective tiles

Q: One objective tile says "Receive 3 VPs for each pair of Action cards (not Starting Action cards) which are available to you at the end of the game"; what does this mean?

A: After round 6 ends, you do not tuck an action card under your desk. Instead take all the 5 action cards you played in the last round back into your hand. Turn the cards over and remove from the game all of your starting cards (with your colour symbol on the back). Count the action cards you then still have in your hand and divide the result by 2, rounding down. Then multiply by 3 to get the number of VPs. Note that cards you tucked under the desk in rounds 1-5 are NOT counted.

4. Specialization tiles

Q: Where are the specialization tiles placed on your player board? Are they an immediate bonus or recurring?

A: There are two kinds of specialization tiles. If you stop on one of the four tiles with the ! mark, you take the corresponding Income tile and place it in one of the five spots in your bookshelf with the ! mark (at the bottom). Those are recurring benefits at the end of each round. The six tiles that show development actions allow you to take the corresponding development tile and place it on a free desk drawer spot (normally the leftmost free one).

Q: There are only four income tiles of each type. It's possible to run out of a type if multiple assistants land on the same specialization tile. What happens if an assistant lands on the tile and there are no more income tiles?

A: If they run out (a rare case) players cannot take more tiles of the same kind. [Confirmed by designer, 4 Jan 2021]

5. Work track

Q: Do you get a coin even for the special spaces because those are moves as well?

A: Yes. The special spaces all show a small coin icon (a little hard to see) which means exactly what you describe.

Q: The rules for collecting coins are confusing. Please explain.

A: Normally, if you have an N-value Work action, you move N spaces and collect N coins. You can choose to move less than N spaces and still collect N coins unless you choose to move less than N spaces in order to land on a Special Space. In this case, you will only collect coins equal to the number of spaces moved.
NOTE: the space at the end of the track is not a "Special Space", it's the "Objective Space". Therefore, if you meet the requirement of the objective, you receive the full value of your action when moving on to the space, even if you move fewer spaces than the value of your Work action. Also, once you have reached the Objective Space, you can still perform a Work action and receive the number of coins equal to the full value of that Work action.

Q: Can money collected moving along the Work track be used, during the same Work action turn, to pay for the quick action: add one extra strength to your action? For example, I move 3 spaces on the track, take 3 coins, then use 2 of those coins to move one more space on the track.

A: No, this is not allowed. You should see the Work action upgrade as part of the Work action itself (the cost of the upgrade is an optional extra cost), so it must be paid before starting to perform the Work action. [Confirmed by publisher, 30 Jan 2021]

6. Travel map

Q: Suppose I have a 3-power travel action, and there’s a city one step east of me and a bonus token one step east of that. Can I move though the city, pick up the bonus token, and finish my turn in the city?

A: Yes, you can. [Confirmed by designer, 24 Aug 2018]

Q: Are there any special rules when the travel cubes run out?

A: When you have placed all your travel cubes, your scientist piece is considered a travel cube. So at this point, if you occupy the objective tile space on the map, you get the points from the tile as if it were occupied by a travel cube. The equivalent rule is applied for every other effect that involves the occupation of a space by a travel cube. [Information provided by designer, 17 Oct 2019]

Q: On the map, is it legal to stop on a space that already has one of your travel cubes?

A: Yes, although you cannot of course place a second cube there, so you don't perform the action and do not gain any benefit.

Q: In order to travel through (not stop at) the objective space on the map, do I need to meet the requirements?

A: You only need to meet the requirements for an objective space if you stop on the space. [Confirmed by designer, 23 Oct 2018]

Q: Since you are allowed to move over the objective space on the travel map, what happens if you use a card that lets you drop a travel cube during your travels? Could this card be used to travel over the objective tile, drop a cube and then end movement somewhere else?

A: This is probably not intended by the rules, since the basic concept is "stop on a space, place a cube, get the bonus", and normally you could stop on any space, you just choose not to. But in this case you cannot stop on the space, so it does not seem reasonable to be able to place a cube. However, AFAIK there has been no definitive ruling from the designer or publisher.

Q: What exactly does the special action "Spend 2 Coins to place more than one travel cube during this travel action" mean? Does this mean that for every two coins you pay you can place an extra cube?

A: No. You can spend 2 Coins and place one cube on a (valid) space you pass through, in addition to any cube you place on your terminating space. The symbols on the card itself (rather than in the rulebook) clearly show that this effect is once per play of the card

Hints for handling

Remember as a general ruling from the designer: you cannot interrupt an action to do something else. This is because you may create a lot of complex loops and problems that need to be solved or more questions about the rules. All of your 'immediate rewards' are gained after completing the action which triggered them.
Use the slider between the boards and the player area in order to magnify one or the other side in the column view. You can opt for different layout options in the game settings.
The action value of your current basic action is indicated in the top left corner of your action card.
Quick actions are optional and highlighted with a red dashed border instead of a red solid border. The quick action to buy potion is performed automatically if you need potions and you have the required money. Yet, the required amount of potions to hand in is indicated when you choose the action.
 
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